Love Her Madly

ife is full of improbabilities.

Mary had wondered if Jim might still be alive had he not had that fateful access to heroin. His drugs of choice, LSD and weed, were not lethal. Jim’s problem drug was alcohol. I started imagining how things might have been had he magically ended up in an AA program. He was so intelligent and curious that he might well have responded to their philosophy, which has brought seemingly hopeless cases back from the brink.

im was kind, loving, and considerate from the moment I met him. He was unfailingly polite and courteous. He was genuinely interested in what you had to say, and he didn’t make unkind or sarcastic remarks. He was funny and mischievous, generous and disarmingly shy. He did not seek fame or notoriety. He was a sensitive, tender young man who wrote poetry. He was also a genius who thought deeply, questioned, and sought to understand. This is not a sanitized version of him. It was why Mary loved him. It was the Jim I met and knew and loved.

“Do you know what happened to her belongings

Enigmatic, mysterious Mary. What a life she led. From centre stage to a total recluse.

From a blazing comet to a barely flickering candle.

“I’m not following you, Mary.”

“Good intentions pave the way to Hell.”

Looking at her situation, I’m reminded of her stubborn integrity.

Nothing I did in this life would cause me to be in this current situation. I’m not a victim. This is from a past lifetime.”